


Spend the Rest of Your Days Rocking Out Just For the Dead

by WinchesterNovak



Series: The Modern AU [2]
Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Black Chuck (Maze Runner), Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Newt (Maze Runner), Other, Racebent Chuck (Maze Runner), Transgender Aris Jones, Transgender Teresa Agnes, bless gerard way for curing my writer's block w a song spooky enough to let me write this, jorge and george's appearances are minor but they're still there, most of the named members of group b and some of the gladers appear here, they're all queer and you can't stop me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 06:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16487252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinchesterNovak/pseuds/WinchesterNovak
Summary: ‘Halloween is going to be very queer this year,’ Harriet says, eyes alight with excitement.‘It always is. After all, this is a house full of gay farmers,’ Lizzy replies.Spooky season is a big deal for the gladers.





	Spend the Rest of Your Days Rocking Out Just For the Dead

‘You know, I never appreciate living on a pumpkin farm as much as I do during spooky season,’ Chuck muses from in front of the window facing the pumpkin patch.  
‘It certainly gives a nice aura,’ Lizzy agrees in her slight English accent. She looks up briefly from her cross-stitch to Harriet, sitting on the couch next to her. She presses a kiss to the other girl’s cheek, startling her out of the pages of her book. The rain patters softly on the roof.  
‘Do you think we’ll actually have enough left for the party?’ Harriet asks, looking out at the fields. Some of the pumpkins were already gone, sold to eager customers.  
‘Well, we won’t need too many, just enough for some Jack O’Lanterns on the porch. Some inside would be nice, but we have those plastic ones,’ Lizzy replies. Harriet nods, returning her attention to her book again.  
‘Where is everyone anyway?’ Chuck asks, noticing the uncharacteristic quiet of the house. It was a rare occurrence with thirteen people living there. All of them were in college, with Chuck, still sixteen and in high school, being the only exception. They weren’t exactly rowdy, except during prank wars, but that many young people under one roof were bound to make some noise.

‘Newt said he, Minho and Thomas were going on a date tonight. I think Brenda and Teresa were having a study date at the library – probably more date than study, let’s be honest. Rach, Aris, Gally and Alby all had late classes, so they’re probably on the bus now. Fry and Winston should be around here somewhere though,’ Lizzy lists. At that moment Frypan and Winston stick their heads through the doorway leading into the living room from the kitchen.  
‘Have y’all started planning for the Halloween party yet? Because it’s only two weeks away now.’ Frypan reminds them, plopping down on the other sofa. Winston curls up next to him. He rarely shows this level of tenderness around anyone other than Frypan.  
‘If we’re going to have a party we might as well do it properly,’ Winston adds matter-of-factly.  
‘We all know you love Halloween as much as the rest of us, don’t try to hide it,’ Chuck admonishes, squeezing onto the sofa next to Winston. Winston breaks into a huge smile.  
‘It’s true, I do,’ he admits.  
‘We’re going to make it a kickass night.’  
‘It always is with us,’ Harriet agrees.

***

The afternoon of the party arrives. The house is a flurry of activity. All of their friends will be attending tonight, instead of the campus party. As the house is a little way out of town, the plan is for everyone to stay overnight. The living room is a mess of fake cobwebs, jack-o’lantern streamers and bowls of candy. The Gladers – as they have come to call themselves; their house having been located in a glade, before it became a farm – are still in their everyday clothes. They won’t be preparing their costumes and make-up for a few more hours.

Frypan is busy in the kitchen baking pumpkin pies and preparing more bowls of candy. Thomas and Winston are on the front porch setting up apple bobbing stations with a crate of apples Zart brought over the day before from the orchard on the farm next door. “It’s Almost Halloween” by Panic! At the Disco blares through the speakers in Chuck’s bedroom, central to the second floor, loud enough to be heard all through the house. Brenda and Teresa dance to it as they hang streamers in the entrance hall, looking as sweet as ever.  
‘Dixie! Get back here!’ Lizzy shouts as first their black cat comes racing through Brenda’s legs and then the blonde trailing past the two, clutching a Dixie-sized vampire cape she’d made last year. Newt carefully ducks out of the way, leaning back on his cane and carrying one of the balloons he’s just blown up.  
‘Don’t use all your energy at once! Remember we have nine other cats to wrangle into costumes, and a dog!’ he calls teasingly after his sister. She glances over her shoulder.  
‘If you keep that attitude I’ll make you do it instead!’  
‘No thanks; I still have the scars from last year.’  
‘Well, we won’t have to worry about Kermit,’ Chuck announces from the stairs. He presents the small green tree frog, today wearing a small witch’s hat made of black paper, to Brenda, Teresa and Newt.  
‘He looks darling,’ Teresa tells him.  
‘You might want to put him back in his terrarium for now though,’ Brenda murmurs, noticing another of their cats, Booboo, slinking down the stairs against the railing. ‘He’s probably too clumsy to _actually_ succeed in eating him, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe.’ Chuck nods and hurries back up the staircase.

‘Do you think Alby’s almost ready to close the pumpkin stall? Aris and Rach could probably use some help with the carving,’ Teresa says to Winston when he and Thomas come back inside.  
‘I don’t know. Let’s hope so,’ he adds as Lizzy and Dixie run back through the entrance hall and upstairs, ‘because it looks like she could use some help with the costumes,’ he laughs.

***

An hour later and Lizzy has successfully caught most of the cats. Alby had volunteered to find Jasper and do his costume instead. Ever since he’d named the cat, he’d been his favourite human. He’s hoping that because of this, Jasper might not scratch him when he puts the face paint on. He was being dressed as No-Face from Spirited Away. He successfully lures the white fluffy cat from under his bed, presumably having been hiding from Lizzy and her costume dash.  
‘Come here, baby,’ he murmurs, coaxing the cat out with a biscuit. He grabs onto the collar and pulls the costume out. Jasper mrrs his displeasure but doesn’t scratch. He lets Alby put the black cloth on him and paint his little cheeks. Once he lets go, Jasper casts him a look of great displeasure – Alby knows he won’t be getting any affection from him for a while – and bolts out the door. He sighs. The things he does for Halloween.

In the hall outside he watches Lizzy and Winston dress Bark as the black lab sits obediently. Beans shoots past, clearly trying to avoid Lizzy, thankfully now dressed in a pumpkin costume.  
‘Why can’t you be good like Bark?’ she calls after her, scornfully rubbing a set of claw marks on her forearm.  
‘Because she’s a cat,’ Winston replies sardonically.  
‘Yes, we know Mr. Dog Person,’ Lizzy grumbles.  
‘Hey! I like cats!’ The two finish clipping the harness on, a pair of black bat wings now sewn on.  
‘Good boy!’ Lizzy gives him scratch behind the ear and his tail thumps the floor. ‘Now, to find Ziggy and wrestle him into that tarantula costume. Those legs took me weeks.’ She stands to stretch and notices Booboo’s face peeking out from the room she shares with Harriet. ‘Hey! What happened to your mask?’ She yells. The cat, dressed in a Captain America costume, turns tail. ‘Get back here!’  
‘And she’s off again,’ Thomas murmurs to Winston as he stops on the top step. ‘How many costumes has she got left?’ he asks Winston.  
‘Three, I think,’ he replies.  
‘I’d better find the cats. I don’t think Newt would forgive me if I let his sister get too stressed out on Halloween,’ Thomas chuckles.  
‘I’ll find Minho; chasing one of them might be fun for him,’ Alby says.  
‘He _is_ always complaining that he can’t go running enough now that it’s raining so often,’ Thomas laughs.

Winston and Alby head back downstairs and Thomas sets off to find Ziggy.

***

‘What’s left before we get started on _our_ costumes?’ Harriet asks when they’re all finally assembled in the living room. All ten cats are lingering in the doorway, eyeing Lizzy suspiciously, but mostly convinced that she’s done with them, now that they’re all dressed. Alby consults the list, blue tacked to the wall.  
‘Mmm… just the setup of the movie marathon and playlist, but that can wait until we’re dressed.’  
‘Let’s go then!’ Brenda enthuses.

***

Upstairs, Brenda and Teresa help each other with their costumes, Snow White and Catwoman, respectively. Teresa brushes Brenda’s hair and secures a blue bow on her girlfriend’s head, placing a small kiss on her forehead. She already hers done, a headband shaped as cat ears secured on top.  
‘I still think you should do the classic version, the one you wore to the convention,’ she tells Brenda as she zips the brown dress over the white blouse.  
‘Miyoko and Ben saw it at the convention, along with everyone we live with. Besides, I made both costumes, so I have to wear the peasant one at some point,’ Brenda replies. Brenda had helped her with her cat suit a few minutes before; it wasn’t difficult to get on, but it was a bitch to zip, Teresa thought.

They do their makeup together, sharing the same shade of bright red lipstick. Since they decided they weren’t doing a couples costume this year, they wanted to match something. Both apply their signature eyeliner and beam at each other in the mirror.  
‘You look gorgeous, babe,’ Brenda tells her, pressing a kiss to her lips this time.  
‘So do you,’ Teresa replies.

***

Aris sits with Rachel in front of the mirror in her room. She had decided on a Rey costume several months before and they’d been practicing her signature hairstyle ever since. Rachel had eventually decided it would be easier to have someone else help her do it and as Aris had been her best friend since they were children; he was the natural choice. His slight fingers move quickly around her curls, slightly damp still, twisting them in the three signature buns, careful not to pull. He used to play with her hair when they were children. She never did with his though, not even when it was longer, before he came out as a boy. He didn’t like anyone touching it, not even his mother.

‘Alright, just one more,’ he murmurs, placing the last pin to secure the bun in the middle of her head. Rachel is already dressed in the cream robes and brown boots. She looks at the reflection of the two in the mirror, herself as Rey and Aris as Spider-Man, the mask currently resting in his lap. Not much has changed, she reflects. When they went trick or treating for the first time as children, she was dressed as Princess Leia and Aris wore a “feminised’ version of Spider-Man. Here they were, in slightly different costumes, but still the same. Well, she thinks, except for the financial security of a share house left to a friend by a very rich relative. She still thinks it’s funny that people always assume they’re dating. They always look so shocked when she tells them she’s just not interested in him that way, even if she is interested in men – albeit not as interested as she is in women – and he tells them that he’s gay.

‘Done,’ Aris tells her. His voice is quiet, as always, but tinged with triumph. She beams. She looks just like her favourite hero.  
‘Thanks,’ she grins, standing and stretching her legs. She fastens the brown belt around her waist and tucks the toy lightsabre into it.  
‘You’re my best friend, Rach. We’ve been through so much together,’ Aris tells her.  
‘You’ve been thinking of our first Halloween too, huh?’ she grins.  
‘Yeah. Things have changed a bit, haven’t they?’  
‘Only for the better,’ she says. She hugs him and he squeezes back tightly.

***

Minho watches from the bed as his two boyfriends rush around the bedroom.  
‘You should have worn lazy costumes like I did,’ he tells them, stroking Crookshanks, the scruffy orange cat curled up in his lap. He hadn’t been the one who chased him down, as Thomas had talked him into with Trip. As a result the Siamese cat was currently ignoring him. He only hoped that the other cats wouldn’t realise his “betrayal”, and give him the stink eye they’d been giving Lizzy.

It had only taken him five minutes to change into the skeleton onesie. It was going to take the others much longer. Newt had decided on a zombie costume and while dressing in the shredded jeans and t-shirt hadn’t taken long, he wasn’t even halfway through his makeup and he’d been at it for twenty minutes. Thomas wouldn’t take as long, but the costume he’d chosen - “sexy Gandalf” - would still take a while, mostly due to the wig and hair net.

‘Exactly. _Lazy_ , Minho. I don’t half-ass Halloween,’ Newt replies, pointing at him with the tip of the brush he’d been using the blend the veins he’d drawn on his face.  
‘Neither do I! I helped decorate. And you didn’t fight with Trip.’  
‘No, because apparently I’m the only one in this relationship with a brain.’ He eyes Thomas in the mirror, adjusting his fake beard a few feet away.  
‘Hey, we were just trying to help Lizzy. She’s your sister,’ Thomas reminds him. He turns to the clothes and wig, trying to decide which to put on next. He seems to decide on the miniskirt he borrowed from Teresa.  
‘Don’t forget these,’ Minho says, tossing Brenda’s spare fishnet stockings at him.  
‘I still can’t believe women are actually expected to wear sexualised clothes every Halloween. I mean, I can, but still.’  
‘Thank God for the Hawkeye Initiative,’ Minho replies. It had been where Thomas had gotten the idea. He’d figured he could at least use the holiday to make a statement about feminism. He just hoped everyone at the party knew him well enough to get the joke, and not think it was a “man in a dress” one. He’d run it by Teresa before he made concrete plans, after all, he’d known her since before she came out as a woman.

‘You almost done there?’ Minho asks Newt. ‘I want to take our couples photo before the others get here. Side note, I’m still annoyed that there’s no polyamorous term for that,’ he adds, frowning at his phone screen. Newt smiles.  
‘Don’t rush me.’ He’s finished with the purple eyeshadow underneath his eyes, though Thomas had joked that the bags from the sleepless nights caused by college would be dead looking enough. All that was left was the lipstick in the same shade. He often wore makeup; he’d always enjoyed experimenting with it, even before he realised he was nonbinary.  
‘I still can’t believe we’re not going trick or treating this year,’ Minho complains.  
‘We would’ve had to go to the campus party instead,’ Thomas reminds him, pulling the robe on and straightening the fake beard. Minho frowns involuntarily.  
‘Yeah, but free candy.’  
‘The man makes a point,’ Newt agrees. Thomas rolls his eyes. He slips into the high heels he’d bought for the occasion.  
‘The girls are right; these are gonna kill my feet,’ he groans.  
‘Do what they do and take them off later,’ Newt suggests, putting the finishing touches on his makeup. ‘How do I look?’ he asks, turning to his boyfriends, both now sitting on the edge of their bed.  
‘Very dead, cupcake,’ Minho tells him. Thomas nods.  
‘You’d be cute if you didn’t look like you walked out of horror film,’ Thomas agrees, pulling the long grey wig on. Minho helps him straighten it out.  
‘Good.’

Minho leans in to kiss Newt as they start to make their way down stairs.  
‘Hey! No kissing; you’ll smudge my makeup!’ Newt protests. Minho rolls his eyes.

***

‘You’re still coming tonight, right?’ Chuck asks through his closet door.  
‘Of course. I’m not going to miss my boyfriend’s Halloween party,’ his boyfriend replies. Chuck feels his cheeks heat up, though it doesn’t show with his dark skin. He emerges from the closet once he’s dressed in the old jeans and t-shirt his moms had sent around for him to stain the week before. If he was going to be a corpse, he felt it should at least have enough fake blood to pass for a murder victim.  
‘William, I have something to tell you,’ he says, facing his phone propped on his desk, in mock seriousness. ‘I’m demiromantic, gay and asexual. I hope this doesn’t affect our relationship.’ William laughs and Chuck’s heart stutters at the smile.  
‘Coming out of the closet must have been so difficult today,’ his boyfriend continues to giggle. They’d met at the school GSA and had known each other’s identities since day one. Still, Chuck was never the one to pass up a joke.

‘You’re staying over, right?’ Chuck checks.  
‘Yeah, my mom okayed it.’  
‘Great,’ he replies with a huge grin. He starts to apply the costume makeup. He hadn’t been able to use any of the stuff that came in the usual kit; they assumed all the corpse costumes were for white people. He was still thankful Winston had been able to lend him some of the stuff they used at his theatre company. He began to apply the foundation, a dark shade with a purple undertone. He notices William looking over his shoulder on the video chat.  
‘I gotta go. I promised my mom I’d do some chores before I left.’  
‘Don’t be late.’  
‘I won’t.’

Chuck finishes applying the fake blood through his hair and on his face. He puts the white contacts in and makes a mental note not to fall asleep wearing them.  
‘See you later.’  
‘I’ll look angelic,’ William creates a look of perfect innocence and holds a hand under his chin staring sweetly up at the ceiling. Chuck giggles as the call ends.

***

‘ _Please_ , let me do your tie. It’s romantic,’ Frypan insists, looking at Winston with imploring eyes. Winston rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. Frypan is the only one he really gets sappy around. He knows the others know it’s a façade, but he doesn’t mind. He likes pretending to be cool and cynical. He’s cynical for sure, but cool? No one he lives with is cool, including him. It’s why they’re friends, he thinks. They’re losers, and they’re happy being losers.  
‘Okay,’ he agrees. ‘But I get to do yours first.’ Fry beams his gorgeous smile, the one that’s always reminded Winston of sunshine.

Winston sets to work with the yellow and black tie, looping it in a knot. They’d decided early on that they were doing a couples costume this time. In the end, they’d decided on Hogwarts students. No one else was going with the Harry Potter theme this year, and they already had more than enough merch for it. Aside from the ties, they were ready; Frypan in the colours of Hufflepuff and Winston in the colours of Slytherin.  
‘I still think you’re a Gryffindor,’ Frypan tells him. ‘You’re pretty brave.’  
‘Gryffindors don’t have a monopoly on bravery,’ Winston disagrees. ‘Anyway the Pottermore Sorting Hat agrees with me.’ Frypan scoffs.  
‘You hate J.K. Rowling just as much as I do.’ Winston nods.  
‘True. Though I don’t think we have a single friend who still respects her.’  
‘My turn,’ Frypan says, grabbing the Slytherin tie from the dressing table. He ties the tie in silence. When he’s done, they stand side by side in the mirror.

‘Well,’ Frypan says. ‘They do say that Hufflepuff and Slytherin make the best relationships.’  
‘Damn right they do,’ Winston agrees, kissing his lips tenderly. Frypan breaks away after a moment.  
‘Come on, I have to go and check the pies.’

***

‘You need help pinning the braids?’ Harriet asks, zipping her boots up over her jeans. She and Lizzy were going as what Minho had described as “the sappiest costume pair at the party”; an actual ship. Lizzy as Princess Leia from the original film, and herself as Han Solo. Harriet crosses to the dressing table and takes the pin Lizzy holds out for her as answer. She quietly pins the braids to the sides of her girlfriend’s head.  
‘There we go. Cinnamon buns,’ she murmurs, squeezing Lizzy’s shoulder. Lizzy smiles.  
‘Thank goodness I decided to get dressed first,’ she remarks, looking down at the flowy white dress she’d sewn. Harriet tucks the zapper gun into her belt. ‘Did you want me to do yours?’ Lizzy asks. Harriet thinks for a second.  
‘I think a bun would look good,’ she smiles. Lizzy nods.  
‘Perfect.’ She gathers Harriet’s dreadlocks into her hands and begins to loop them into a bun on the crown of her head. They sit in the quiet. The pair always has done since they were in high school together. Their company fills the silence, even without words.

Once Lizzy’s finished she steps back.  
‘You look beautiful as always, pumpkin,’ she tells her, caressing her cheek. Harriet takes her hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles.  
‘Han and Leia have never looked so good,’ Harriet agrees.  
‘Of course not. Lesbians make everything better.’

***

‘Is Eric coming tonight?’ Newt asks Alby over the punch bowl. Alby shakes his head.  
‘We only just started seeing each other. I didn’t want to seem too much, y’know meeting every friend I have at once,’ Alby admits, fidgeting with the black robe of his costume. He had decided to match Jasper, since the cat had claimed him as his favourite. Newt sighs.  
‘You must really like him then. Usually you’re much more clear headed than this.’  
‘Hey, I’m clear headed!’  
‘Then send him a text inviting him and tell him you thought you’d already sent one,’ Newt replies, tossing Alby his phone.  
‘Meeting everyone might scare him off!’  
‘Then, he’ll tell you that,’ Newt replies, tone softening. ‘It’ll be fine, Al. If you like him this much, then I know we will, too.’ Alby smiles nervously.  
‘Okay,’ he agrees. ‘But if this backfires I’m blaming you,’ he adds. He tries to sound stern, but it just comes off as nervous.  
‘I’ll accept full responsibility. Now go text him.’

***

Alby paces back and forth anxiously waiting for Eric text him back. He expects that he’ll say he’s already going to the campus party, whether it’s the truth or not. This was a ridiculous idea, he thinks. Why does he ever listen to Newt? At that moment, his phones buzzes, a text from Eric lighting up the screen.  
‘He’s… he’s going to come to the party,’ he reads, incredulously.  
‘Told you,’ Newt calls, carrying a massive bowl of candy. That’s why he listens to Newt; he knows them better than they know themselves.

***

Aris and Rachel meet Lizzy and Harriet in the entrance hall to reveal their costumes. It had been a ritual with their group since they were in high school; they never told each other who or what they were dressing as – except the basics so they could avoid doubling up, after an incident in sophomore year when they all dressed as Hermione Granger.  The four of them have been close since they met. Since he came out, and started being acknowledged as a man by strangers, Aris has been protective of the three girls. He knows they don’t need it; they’re all fierce. They’d even met taking a self-defence class (Aris had been in attendance as well, as he had yet to come out). Rachel had approached the other two, telling Aris she thought Harriet was cute and wanted to make friends. But he would do anything for them, as he knew they would for him.

‘Han and Leia have never looked so good,’ he tells Lizzy and Harriet. Harriet nudges Lizzy, a massive smile on her face.  
‘That’s what I said!’ she grins, eyes wide with glee. Lizzy grins back.  
‘And it’s like I said; lesbians make everything better,’ she replies, matter-of-factly.  
‘Damn right,’ Aris agrees.  
‘Nice costume,’ Lizzy tells him, admiring the stitching. He’d originally bought it for cosplay, but hadn’t had a chance to wear it yet. It was high-quality.  
‘Thanks. I couldn’t resist; after all, Peter Parker and I _are_ both trans. The opportunity was too good to pass up,’ he shrugs, grinning.  
‘Rey is of course very gay too,’ Harriet says, nodding to Rachel’s costume. Rachel grins, eager as always to discuss her Star Wars headcanons.  
‘Extremely. I haven’t decided whether I think she’s pan or a lesbian, but she’s sapphic either way. Maybe she’s like me and avoids labels,’ Rachel adds, a thoughtful look on her face.  
‘Halloween is going to be very queer this year,’ Harriet says, eyes alight with excitement.  
‘It always is. After all, this is a house full of gay farmers,’ Lizzy replies.

***

Gally is the last to come down stairs.  
‘What took you so long?’ Thomas asks as they stand in the living room. It looks far emptier than usual, with most of the furniture pushed to one side so they can fit everyone in. A coloured light sits in the corner, ready to paint the room in different shades. Chuck’s Halloween playlist is already playing softly on the downstairs speakers.  
‘Becoming a Time-Lord takes time, Greenie,’ Gally replies.  
‘You literally wear that outfit all the time. Well parts of it,’ Minho says.  
‘Y’all are always saying I wear hideous clothes, so I decided to channel the Tenth Doctor.’ He puffs his chest out and grins just a little smugly at them.  
‘Oh my God, he’s right,’ Teresa agrees.  
‘You did your hair wrong,’ Brenda points out. ‘We would’ve gotten it sooner, otherwise.’ He sighs.  
‘I knew I forgot something.’ He trudges back upstairs.  
‘Don’t use my hair gel!’ Minho calls after him.

***

Everyone arrives at almost the same time. Miyoko and Ximena are the first to turn up, as they somehow always are.  
‘Does this mean I can finally play the music at a good volume?’ Chuck asks. As the words leave his mouth “Baby You’re a Haunted House” by Gerard Way starts. ‘That’s a yes whether the rest of you like it or not!’ he shouts and turns the volume up. It doesn’t take long for the others to start dancing. Teresa and Brenda dance together, twisting their hips and bobbing up and down on the spot. Teresa still can’t believe the effect her girlfriend has on her confidence. Usually she feels ridiculous dancing unless she’s with Chuck or Thomas, and that’s only because she’s known them both too long to be embarrassed by anything with them. But when she dances with Brenda, that’s all she can focus on; the fact that she’s having a great time with the girl she loves. She smiles at her and draws her in for a kiss.

Newt, Minho and Thomas dance in the centre of the room. They seem to be mixing ballroom and club dancing, the three of them taking turns spinning the others around and then moving from side to side on the spot for a while. Chuck is still half amazed that none of them ever feel left out. But he’s seen the way his brother loves the other two, and how much they love him as well as each other. He looks towards the front door, thinking of his own boyfriend. William had said his mom would probably drop him off about half an hour into the party. He wants time to speed up so he can spend as much time as he can with him. Halloween is Chuck’s favourite holiday, and though the phrase was usually used for Christmas, he wants all the people he cares about with him.

Gally manages to grab Ben soon after he arrives. Alby isn’t the only one with romantic prospects tonight, he thinks. He and Ben have been out to each other for a while; Gally came out as gay and asexual when they were still in high school and Ben had come out a few years later as bi. Lately, Gally had noticed flirtation from Ben and honestly he wasn’t sure if it was friendly banter he was misreading or if his long-suffering crush was finally being reciprocated. He pulls him into the kitchen, away from the others, so that at least if he makes a fool out of himself there won’t be any witnesses.  
‘What’s up, Gall?’ Ben asks, flashing him a smile. The look makes Gally’s breath catch in his throat and he chokes, coughing suddenly. The smile vanishes, replaced with wide eyes and a mouth downturned with concern.  
‘Gall? Are you alright?’ Gally keeps coughing, both unable and unwilling to admit his crush is so huge he’s managed to choke on his own spit in a botched attempt at a love confession. He fills a glass with water and drinks slowly, the coughing subsiding.  
‘What happened?’ Ben asked, eyes still wide with worry. Gally shakes his head.  
‘I choked. I’m fine now.’ He blushes. ‘I’m not usually the clumsy one around here.’  
‘I know. I _have_ met Chuck Greene,’ Ben replies, an easy smile slowly replacing the concern in his eyes. ‘I know you didn’t bring me in here to show me a coughing fit. What did you want to talk about?’

Gally takes a deep breath and looks Ben in the eyes.  
‘This is either going to go really well or really, really badly,’ he tells him. ‘Lately, it sort of feels like you’ve been flirting with me,’ he says.  
‘Oh, that.’ Ben looks away, rubbing the back of his neck.  
‘I’m not sure if I’m, like, reading things wrong or not but-’  
‘It’s cool. I get it. You’re not interested.’ Ben looks anywhere but at Gally.  
‘What? No! I’m trying to tell you that I like you, you walnut!’  
‘I’m not the one who just had a coughing fit trying to tell someone they have a crush on them,’ Ben mumbles out of reflex. His eyes widen as he seems to realise what he’s just said. ‘Wait, what? You like me _back_?’  
‘Well, yeah. That’s what I just said.’  
‘Oh. That’s definitely not where I thought this was going.’  
‘Yeah. I definitely need practice with the whole “confessing my feelings to people thing”,’ Gally says.  
‘Well, I mean, hopefully you won’t be confessing feelings to anyone else,’ Ben replies. Gally smiles and reaches down to take his hand. He’s just thinking about going in for a kiss when Fry appears in the doorway.

‘Well don’t just stand there! My kitchen’s for dancing! And cooking, but dancing too!’

***

‘Hey Papa! Thanks for bringing George,’ Brenda says, wrapping Jorge in a hug and kissing his cheek. Her younger brother waves cheerfully to his father and ducks in through the open door, dark curls bouncing with his movement.  
‘Of course, peanut,’ he replies in his thick accent, smiling widely at his daughter.  
‘I have the house’s approval if you want to stay for a while. The others really look up to you.’ She holds the door open a little wider.  
‘So I’m a cool dad, huh? Your dad and I have a date night tonight, since George is out of the house. Thanks anyway, sweetie.’  
‘You’re welcome anytime, Jorge,’ Teresa adds, appearing at Brenda’s shoulder.  
‘Hey, kiddo. It’s good to see you again. We’ll have to have a family dinner sometime soon,’ he tells her. Teresa smiles, heart thudding wildly. She loves Jorge and his husband like her own parents, and she’s beyond pleased that they feel the same way.  
‘That would be great. You and Dante are very dear to me,’ she tells him honestly.

Thomas appears suddenly.  
‘Tee! We need help! There’s an emergency with the cats!’

***

‘When you said emergency, Tom…’  
‘I know! But they’re fighting over that damn tarantula costume. Lizzy said at the beginning of the night she wants minimal damage to the costumes. If I try to pry them apart…’ Thomas trails off. Teresa sighs.  
‘At least Ziggy isn’t still wearing it.’ They watch waiting for an opening. Booboo arches up, paw raised ready to strike.  
‘Now!’ Teresa shouts. She grabs Gingersnap as Thomas dives for Booboo. He misses by an inch and receives a hiss. He manages to grab Booboo’s collar before he can get away, but it’s a close thing.  
‘Bad cat,’ Teresa tells the ginger cat squirming in her arms sternly. ‘We have guests,’ she adds. She turns to Thomas. ‘We’d better separate them. I’ll put Ms Snappy in my room. Put Booboo in the laundry.’ Thomas nods and they set off. Lizzy approaches to confiscate the costume before it causes another fight. She looks down at it and sighs.

***

‘Thanks again for bringing the cider, Zart,’ Newt says, taking a sip of the bubbly liquid. The blonde boy shrugs his almost square shaped shoulders.  
‘No problem. You all help out on the farm a lot, especially when you have your own. Just consider it the next paycheque,’ he adds with a wink. ‘Mom and Dad weren’t too worried about it. It’s non-alcoholic and that doesn’t sell as well this time of year.’  
‘Giving us your castoffs, Johnson? You’d better not be taking advantage of my boyfriend,’ Minho teases, sidling up to the pair. He puts an arm around Newt in a faux-protective fashion.  
‘I wouldn’t dream of it, Minho,’ Zart grins back. Newt shakes his head.

‘Where’s Tommy?’ he asks. Minho holds a hand to his chest, mouth wide with a staged gasp.  
‘I see how it is. Only interested in one of us now, hmm?’ Newt laughs. ‘Seriously though, I saw him with Tee and Lizzy breaking up a fight with the cats.’  
‘Oh.’  
‘Yeah. Apparently the tarantula costume didn’t have the effect Lizzy was hoping for.’  
‘My ears are burning,’ Lizzy says, walking up to the group with Harriet in tow.  
‘Minho was telling me that the cats were fighting over the spider costume,’ Newt tells her. She frowns.  
‘I didn’t get to the bit where Ziggy was _out of it_ when the others starting fighting over it,’ Minho adds.  
‘Oh,’ Newt repeats. Lizzy smiles.  
‘Ungrateful little shit. Just for that he’s going to be stuck with the same costume next year,’ she laughs.

***

Eric arrives in the middle of the commotion with the cats.  
‘I’d almost forgotten you have ten cats,’ he murmurs, making Alby jump.  
‘ _I_ don’t have ten cats. It’s the whole house, really,’ Alby corrects, desperate to make a good impression. He wants to make things official tonight and he _really_ doesn’t want it to be ruined by the cats.  
‘Ten cats seems cool, honestly. But like, a _lot_ of chaos.’ Alby smiles.  
‘You can say that again.’  
‘I don’t think I’ve met many of your friends before. You said this is a share house, how many of you live here?’ Eric asks.  
‘There are thirteen of us. Out of that there’s three couples living together and one polyamorous triad.’  
‘So, like, an ultra queer zone then?’ Eric grins. Alby feels himself relax a bit. Eric doesn’t think he’s a loser, at least. A small voice in the back of his head tells him that, logically, if Eric thought he was a loser he wouldn’t have bothered going on a second date, let alone showing up to the party tonight.

He takes Eric around to introduce to everyone.  
‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to remember so many new names at once,’ Eric admits in Alby’s ear.  
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Alby whispers back. His heart thumps at the thought of what he wants to say next before he actually gets the words out. ‘You’ll see them again a lot anyway. We do all live together. That is, if you want to keep seeing each other.’ Eric smiles and Alby’s stomach does a somersault.  
‘I’d love to. I was actually hoping…’ Alby holds his breath through the pause. ‘Maybe we could make this more official?’ Eric’s cool demeanour slips for the first time since he’s arrived, his eyes wide and nervous. Alby has to fight to keep his giddy laughter in; it comes out as a huge smile, instead.  
‘I was actually going to ask you to be my boyfriend tonight,’ he admits, laughing breathily. Eric laughs too, relief in the tone.  
‘So that’s a yes?’ Alby nods. ‘Can I kiss you?’ Eric asks. He nods again.

***

‘Minho, what the hell are you doing?’ Minho rolls past Alby and Newt and into the kitchen on his skateboard. He glances back at the pair.  
‘Chuck dared me!’  
‘Chuck is sixteen!’ Newt points out. His boyfriend shrugs. ‘Minho, I swear if you break your bloody leg…’ Newt trails off, following him into the kitchen. Alby shakes his head, thinking that will be the end of it. Newt has always been the mom friend of the group. Usually they listen to his common sense. So of course he’s surprised when Minho comes skating out the other doorway, picking up speed.  
‘It was for around the whole house, Newt!’  
‘You’ll break your buggin’ neck, you tit!’ Newt grumbles, running after the skateboard, limping heavily without his cane. Sure enough, there’s a crash thirty seconds later.  
‘I’m okay!’ Minho calls. Newt stands in front of him, arms folded, shaking his head.  
‘Tit,’ he repeats.  
‘You love me,’ Minho replies. Newt doesn’t say anything. He’s got him there.

***

‘Well, this has been eventful,’ Newt notes, leaning on his cane as he observes the room.  
‘Time to start the horror films do you think?’ Alby asks.  
‘Yeah, if we want to have time to watch “The Nightmare Before Christmas” at the end, like Chuck requested.’ They stop the music and as a group they pull the sofas back into the centre of the room. Thomas goes to grab the piles of blankets that they’d put aside. Frypan brings in bowls of popcorn and they all settle in together. Thomas, Minho and Newt manage to secure one of the sofas and snuggle up together under one of the blankets. Newt and Thomas insist that Minho goes in the middle since he’s such a blanket hog. The three of them hold hands under the blanket. Minho outlasts the other two, staying awake until almost the end of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, the other two with their heads resting on his shoulders. Brenda and Teresa sit under a blanket with their backs against the sofa. Teresa rests her head on Brenda’s shoulder, Brenda’s arm around her. Harriet and Lizzy are stretched out on the floor, Harriet’s head resting on her chest. Lizzy leans down every now and again to whisper in her ear, making Harriet giggle softly. Frypan and Winston are curled up on the other couch, Frypan’s arms around Winston. They trade soft kisses every now and again. Rachel sits in the spot on the end of their sofa, Aris next to her feet. Occasionally during the films, she taps him on the shoulder with her toes, or he tickles her feet. Chuck and William sit against the wall, whispering the whole way through each film. They hold hands and just stare at each other sometimes. George sits with them. The three of them are in the same year at school and became friends quickly after they realised they already inadvertently knew each other. Alby lies on the floor under a blanket, next to Eric. At some point, Eric reaches for his hand and he doesn’t let go until he wakes up the next morning. He can’t believe that they’re actually officially dating. Gally lies next to Ben, who falls asleep somewhere during the first movie. It’s not particularly affectionate he supposes, but they were next to each other on purpose, even if not quite as cuddly as the others. The other couples cuddle up on the floor, Ximena and Miyoko, and Jeff and Clint. Zart dozes off in one of the armchairs. The crickets outside the farmhouse are the only noise to disturb the peace.

***

They wake up gradually the next morning, the sun waking them all in turns.  
‘Time for a traditional Glader after party breakfast!’ Frypan announces when the last of them finally blinks awake. He’s always loved food, ever since he was a child. He takes the opportunity to cook for the large crowds they have after parties as practice for when he eventually works in a kitchen busier than the small café he works in currently.  
‘Who’s rostered to help with the cooking?’ Alby asks, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Newt stands slowly and walks to the kitchen.  
‘Lizzy, me and Winston,’ he reads.  
‘Let’s get started then!’ Frypan replies, excitedly. The three hurry into the kitchen to join Newt. The others begin to fold up the blankets and chat quietly in small groups. Although they’re tired, the happiness of the night before lingers.

***

Frypan hums the tune of “Demolition Lovers” by My Chemical Romance as he pours the pancake batter onto the tray. Chuck’s Halloween playlist is on again, but much softer this time. He’d insisted that just because it wasn’t October anymore they didn’t have to stop being spooky and none of them could argue with that logic. Winston grabs him by his free hand and pulls him into the centre of the room and starts to sway to the music.  
‘Hey! The pancakes will burn!’ Frypan protests, waving his spatula in his boyfriend’s face. Winston grins.  
‘I know you love food, honey, but there are two other people in here. We can have a moment,’ he murmurs. Frypan relaxes slowly and kisses Winston’s temple.

***

Newt frowns around a forkful of pancake as Minho leaves a sloppy kiss on the corner of his mouth.  
‘It’s too smudged for a kiss to make a difference now,’ Minho snickers, knowing exactly what his boyfriend is thinking. Newt’s eyes widen. He pulls the camera up on his phone and examines himself on the screen. He groans. Parts of his real complexion are visible again in places and eyeliner smudged in a line right along to his ear.  
‘That’s going to be hell to get off the blankets,’ he murmurs, tucking the phone away and returning to his pancakes. Thomas smiles at the exchange between his two boyfriends.  
‘At least it’s not your turn for laundry this week,’ he remarks.

***

It had been a good night, Frypan thought as they cleaned up after the guests had left for their own homes. Maybe not as wild as the campus party had surely been, but a happy one. And none of them could wait to do it all again next year.

**Author's Note:**

> look halloween is my fave holiday and i have to believe the gladers would be absolutely into it. 
> 
> it's worth noting that i hc canon!winston a gryffindor but this version would 100% think he's in slytherin.
> 
> title is from "desert song" by my chemical romance.
> 
> this series has a [pinterest board](https://www.pinterest.com.au/winchesternovak00/tmr-modern-au-fic/) if you're interested in knowing more about this universe


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